Save your breath Please
by lissakoshka
Summary: A short story about a groggy Captain Levi and the usual upbeat Squad Leader Hanji. On any other boring day, would wouldn't expect much to happen right? We'll see.


To say that the past few days were worth the wake up would have been the biggest lie you could tell another soldier. The same old groggy mist hovering around as the sun peered out from its hiding place, same annoying beams of sun seeping through slightly uncovered windows; which caused a lot of people to wake up annoyed and severely tired. Even with the people about, they always seemed to follow the same pattern. Wave lazily, trip on that wooden plank that jutted slightly from the otherwise well designed floors, and the inevitable grumble of 'Good Morning' or 'Hi...yeah..' well, only if you're especially groggy, that is.

Whether fortunately or unfortunately, some people managed to be bright and well levelled in the mornings . Oh, take a wild guess who wakes up excited for the day. Hell, even some of the squad leaders had begun to take bets on which day she'd falter in her typical 'Good Morning' trot about the barracks. No one managed to get any money from the bets, considering everyday was a new kind of natural drug to Hanji, which eventually lead to a single wooden table stacked with small golden and silver pennies sitting in the middle of Erwin's office. Erwin even added to it some days, but it was more of a hopeful bet rather than a 'Let me get that money' bet. It was hard to get the glasses wearing study fanatic off your tail once she started clinging to your heels like some kind of needy child.

Surprising enough, today wasn't any different from any other days. People lazily dragged their feet along the wooden flooring of the hallways as they presumably made their way to have a late breakfast, maybe even carrying paperwork to certain offices, either way it was a complete annoyance to a certain Captain's ears. Those unwanted vibrations clattered against his ear drums, almost instantly making him lift his hands up to massage his temples. He rubbed soft circles into the skin of his temples with his small, dainty fingers, but try as he might, the gentle touch of his own fingers could not soothe any pain that began in his head.

Levi had a habit of sleeping in nowadays, hoping he wouldn't have to wake up to those early morning groans and grumbles, but he always found them echoing in his room anyway. His heavy eyelids managed to lift after a while of simply gazing at the white sheets that covered his legs, allowing him to now see the blinding streaks of light stream in through his uncovered window. "Shit..." He grumbled softly, flinching slightly as the light reached his dull, greyish blue eyes. He had forgotten to pull the curtain over that damned pane of glass. Again. He sucked in a short breath, carefully pushing the thin, white blankets off his legs. He had to do something to get his mind out of the shit storm known as waking up.

He shifted to the edge of his bed, feeling the jet black strands of hair fall against his face, tickling his cheeks in the most uncomfortable manner. With a small grunt, he finally got himself off the bed, though the bareness he felt along with the coolish air against his skin almost seemed to try and lure him back into the soft embrace of his clean, white blanket. Yet again, he ignored that urge on this day, and proceeded to slowly make his way to the window. His eyes finally somewhat adjusted to the flaring light that streamed through the glass panes, but he still couldn't help but squint as he tugged the curtain down. It was merely a flimsy cloth attached by two nails on the wall above the window, but it did the trick when it came to blocking the eye violating light. Levi let a small huff of air escape his lips, seemingly satisfied with his now dim room. Well, with that out of the way, he could finally get his damn clothes on.

**~*~**

It was about late morning by the time Levi walked out from his room, lacking his harness and his beige jacket from his normal outfit. He just couldn't be bothered with those things today, so he more or less looked like a bit of an outcast in the hallways, considering everyone had at least most of their uniform on by this time. Well, his especially lazy outfit wasn't the only thing that made him stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, he could not shake off his sleepy demeanour just by pacing around his room while he tried to find his clothes. He promptly decided he would have a little roam around in the fresh air before doing anything. As much as it didn't seem so, he didn't want to be a huge grump towards anyone that crossed his path in such a time.

With that on mind, Levi forwarded out to the simple wooden entrance of the building of which most people rested or snoozed in their offices (Truth be told, there was barely any differences between bedrooms and offices besides a few different bits of furniture, but that's not important right now.), noticing that the door already seemed to have been opened... and wasn't even closed properly. What? Did someone want some wild animals to come wondering in or something? Ridiculous, really. He rolled his eyes slightly, reaching forward to grasp the cold, silver doorknob and push it with a small jut of his arm. His eyes were instantly greeted with flashes of green and browns, each a different shade and tone, which came as a small surprise for a mind that had been stuck on the same boring wooden design for most of these days. It was almost like he'd never been outside at all this week, and even with the feeling that he may be having an overreaction to the look of the grounds, he wasn't even sure if he had been out.

Slowly, he crossed over the wooden threshold, his steal blue eyes remaining in their somewhat dull state as they looked about the rather spectacularly lit scenery. Even if he wanted to show how much he enjoyed the feeling of fresh air against his pale skin and the look of the flora that surrounded him, sometimes his facial muscles just wouldn't comply. Something he had grown used to, like a talent in some ways. He continued to walk on, listening to the sounds of gravel and dirt beneath him rub against the sole of his leather boots whilst he peered around. No one seemed to be outside today. Surely some Cadets were training somewhere... but he wouldn't want to run into them.

Levi decided keeping by the buildings was wise today. He didn't want to wonder off too far, plus, it was comforting to be close to places where people definitely roamed. Sometimes it's nice not to be completely alone.

He walked along at a normal pace now, eyes looking towards the few buildings he walked by. Most people were inside, working hard on whatever they were told to work on or just running errands for others. He sighed, knowing that he himself had paperwork still on his desk at this very minute. 'We just need your signature for this' they assured him constantly. Sure. As if. If they could get his signature, then they might as well get him to fill what he had to eat the night before. He slowly shook his head, dismissing the thought of having to write out his name several times on those tattered papers. No time for that now. Soon enough, he had come across the large yet flat building known as the 'Dining Hall'. Reason for people being in there is rather self explanatory, but yet, Levi wondered if anyone was around there at this time. He walked on past the Dining Hall, studying the surface of the planks of wood, admiring the material used for the support of such a building.

Before he could even turn his head from the wall of the Hall, he noticed a small jolt of movement from the corner of his eye. His brows furrowed as he turned to face the movement, but was only to be greeted by the pounce of a noticeably taller female, hands lifted in a claw-like manner and a small child-like growl escaping her lips. Levi didn't flinch a bit, but managed to give the woman a disapproving glare in the midst of her little performance. She froze in that position for a bit, waiting until her dirtied glasses slipped down her nose before standing up-right.

"Nothing?" Hanji questioned, sounding disappointed as she stared back at Levi with her dark brown eyes. Levi gave no response as she stared like a puppy being scolded, just letting her have her moment before deciphering whether this conversation would go anywhere. She laughed slightly, lifting a hand up to rub the back of her head, which managed to make her hair go from decent to a hairstyle you'd expect from a toddler. "Ahh... You're not much fun."

Levi looked off to the green grounds beside them, gaze softening before continuing to walk along the outside of the buildings. This little talk deemed to be going nowhere anyway. Hanji watched as he walked right by her, her smile faltering and her palm dropping from the back of her head. "Hey! Don't ignore me." She whined, trotting off after him like a puppy. She hadn't even seen Levi in a bit, since she was stuck in her work when she wasn't walking around the barracks like a cheerful motivator that no one needed.

"It's hard to ignore you. You're always so damn obnoxious." Levi replied, eyes looking ahead and only ahead as he heard those footsteps beginning to follow his own. This could cause some trouble for him, mostly because he hadn't managed to get the fresh air he needed to keep his little tempered reactions from popping up. But, then again, he always was impatient and snappy with Hanji on normal work days.

Hanji pouted, beginning to get more eager to get closer to him with every step she made behind him. With her longer legs, he wasn't that hard to catch up to, especially since Hanji had unreasonable amounts of energy when she wanted to. "Don't be like that, Levi. I just want to talk to you." She mumbled once close enough to the short, pale man.

"Is that so?" He mumbled in return, slightly curious on why anyone would be interested in talking with him. He halted in his small steps, turning on his heel slowly and looked back at the glasses wearing woman with a questioning gaze. "Why do you want to talk to me?" He paused, thinking for himself for a moment before murmuring "Don't tell me you want me to help you capture a titan again..."

Hanji found herself almost tripping and falling on top of Levi when he stopped and turned around, but managed to back up a bit once he spoke, a small laugh passing her lips yet again. Well, titans are a frequent thing she talks about, but she wasn't only going to talk about them or ask of favours for research purposes. Promptly, she cleared her throat, staring back at the shorter male. "As much as I'd like your help with research, that isn't the only thing I want to talk to you about." She thought about how to word the next sentence without sounding like a huge creep. "You've been in your room for a bit, and it's not as fun with the others when you're not around. "

"I don't think I'm there to spark fun, Hanji." Levi stated in a stern voice. A soft breeze rolled by as he spoke, causing him to shiver. Damn, his jacket could have been handy right about now. Though, nevertheless, he still glared at the woman. Either he was too tired to understand much, or he just wasn't picking up on what she was saying.

"I know. It's just that we- well, I, feel more free to laugh and have a joke while you're around." She shakily smiled, moving in closer to the other as she spoke. The sounds of wind pushing against the branches and leaves on the trees was so pleasant right about now, knowing there was something to admire around them besides having a bit of a confusing talk, yet Hanji kept pushing through with this, hopefully getting somewhere with this time they had by themselves. "Even if you're a huge grump, you still manage to make me smile."

Levi raised a brow, thinking about that last comment. Was there ever a time that Hanji didn't wear some sort of smile? It didn't seem like it in his eyes, and it couldn't all be his doing. "Is that really a hard thing to do?" He mumbled in a mock-questioning voice. He could still feel the breeze against his arms as he spoke, though. Shivers were sent down his spine with every roll of cool air, and by no means was it all that refreshing without long sleeves. He slowly lifted his arms, lazily folding one over the other in attempt to keep them somewhat warm, but it only left the other arm even more exposed to the sudden breeze. "Damn it..." he huffed softly.

Hanji blinked a few times, watching as the other shivered and crossed his arms. Well, he was lacking some parts of his uniform, so of course he wasn't feeling same warm material protecting her from the cold air that occasionally gushed by them. Sure enough, the corners of her lips raised as an idea popped up in her head. "You're cold, aren't you?" She hummed in amusement, her eyes glistening brightly as she stared at the other. She gave no time to let him respond in all honesty, because that question already had a rather clear answer to it. Almost instantly, she reached out to the other with her grabby, claw-like hands, grasping Levi's shoulder's with ease before gently pulling him close to her.

Levi would have protested, but yet, she felt so warm. He couldn't help but lean against her slightly, allowing his own arms to wrap around her waist in a smooth, gentle action. He stood there, silent for the time being, just basking in the warmth the woman provided from the simple embrace. It was nice, but yet, when it hit him that he was standing there... with his arms around her...

"You ok there? " Hanji chuckled, her arms slowly wrapping around him in return. She was surprised he didn't pull away, in all honesty. Even if he managed to bring a smile onto her face, it still didn't do anything about the fact that his visage was either that of a bored expression or just the normal grumpy frown. She cautiously began to stroke the material of his white button up shirt, feeling the material press against Levi's back with every small touch the tips of her fingers made.

His head had tilted back slightly, just so he could look at her and whatever expression she may have been making, but sure enough he was met with that same old smile. Sometimes it was hard to tell if she was smiling or smirking softly, like the way you would when you killed a bug that was continuously scratching at your leg. "I'm fine." He said in a somewhat quiet voice, his shoulders loosening up as he felt her fingers against his back, somehow making him relax a bit more. "But, I don't know if you are." he continued, staring at that smile.

"I'm always fine when I'm around you, Levi." She whispered, her soft voice laced with sincerity.

For the longest time, they had stared into each other's eyes, admiring every dull colour or every glistening highlight like it was the bright lights of the stars or the dark sky itself, even if day surrounded them in that time. They were warm in each other's arms, even as the cold wind had began to pick up, sweeping strands of both jet black and brunette (plus a slight tinge of red) across their seemingly frozen faces. The woman felt herself give in, her head slowly leaning in to meet his, and he promptly began to lean in as well. Everything seemed to go so slow at this point, both of their lips either quivering with anticipation for what came next or just waiting for that soft feeling against their own lips. Edging closer and closer, so close, a breath away from that sweet moment and then-

_"Hanji."_ Levi's stern voice suddenly mumbled within the tense moment, his lips no longer approaching the others. In fact, he seemed slightly disgusted, judging by the look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Hanji questioned, feeling her shoulders slump with disappointment. Jeez, that would have been a good moment for both of them if he didn't pull away or speak up.

"Your breath fucking stinks." Levi stated in a soft hiss-like voice, staring right into her brown eyes with that same old disapproving look. "Brush your damn teeth before you go about kissing someone, will you?"


End file.
